We review the RICOH GR II together with actual sample photos.
A large APS-C sensor in a small body, a 28mm-equivalent prime lens, and the lightness to pull it from your pocket and shoot right away.
It was released in 2015, but when you shoot with the GR II, you stop caring much about whether it is "new or old." What matters more is how quickly you can react to what happens in front of you. The GR II is a camera that reminds you of the fun of snapshot photography.
Here we introduce the features of the RICOH GR II and look at actual sample photos.
What Is the RICOH GR II? An APS-C Compact That Fits in Your Pocket
The RICOH GR II is a premium compact digital camera released on July 17, 2015.
It has an approx. 16.2-megapixel effective 23.7 x 15.7mm APS-C CMOS sensor and an 18.3mm f/2.8 lens, equivalent to about 28mm in 35mm format. The body measures approx. 117.0 x 62.8 x 34.7mm and weighs approx. 251g including the battery and SD card.
APS-C refers to a relatively large image sensor widely used in interchangeable-lens cameras. The GR II packs it into a size that fits easily in a jacket pocket.
"I don't need to bring a big camera. But I want to take photos that look different from a smartphone's."
It's just the right camera for such days.
Because It's 28mm, You Can Step Right Into the Scene You've Found
The GR II's lens is approx. 28mm in 35mm-equivalent terms. It is a prime lens with no zoom. The optical design has 7 elements in 5 groups, including 2 aspherical elements.
The 28mm angle of view is good at capturing not just a person large in the frame, but also the place they are in and the air around them.
For example, a view seen through an airport window.
A rain-covered window, workers, an airplane. The fun of 28mm is that instead of making just one of them the star, you can fit the entire situation that was in front of you into a single frame.
Ordinary Everyday Things Become Photographs
The joy of carrying a snapshot camera is that you can find things to shoot without going anywhere special.
Raindrops on a window are one of them.
The GR II supports macro shooting down to about 10cm. You can shoot not only distant views but also get a little closer to things around you.
Looking not at the scenery beyond the window, but at the window itself.
When you point the camera at something you'd normally walk past, an ordinary rainy day becomes a day for shooting.
The GR II Is Not Just a Camera for "Taking Pretty Pictures"
The GR II has a built-in flash.
It's a small pop-up flash that is sometimes omitted in current cameras, but it becomes an interesting presence in night snapshots. It isn't only for lighting your subject: combined with ambient light and motion, it lets you capture moments different from what the naked eye sees.
In this sample shot on a night road, strong light falls on the person while the streetlights and background around them streak widely.
A photo isn't only right when it is in focus, free of blur, and everything is neat.
It can capture the instability and speed you felt in that moment. Walking at night with the GR II makes you want to try this kind of shooting.
In Monochrome, Only Light and Movement Remain
Playing with monochrome as well as color is another typical way to use the GR II.
When color information disappears, light, shadow, shape and movement come across more strongly.
In this sample, the outline of the person shakes widely, and the movement remains in the background too.
As a record photo it may be blur. But when you think about preserving the feeling of being there, this very ambiguity becomes the photograph.
"Full Press Snap," Fast from Button to Shutter
One of the features that makes the GR series a true snapshot camera is "Full Press Snap."
Normally you half-press to set AF and then release the shutter, but on the GR II you can press the shutter button all the way in one motion and shoot at a preset distance.
The moment you feel "now!" in the city is gone a few seconds later.
Instead of waiting for the camera to think, you release the shutter the instant you spot something. This sense of speed is a big part of the GR series' appeal.
The First GR with Wi-Fi
The GR II is also the first model in the GR series with Wi-Fi and NFC. It supports image transfer to smartphones and remote shooting, and appeared as a model that expanded usability from the original GR released in 2013.
It is a generation that inherited the basic configuration of a 16.2MP APS-C sensor and a 28mm-equivalent f/2.8 lens while adding communication features and more.
Why Use the RICOH GR II Now
16.2 megapixels. A 28mm prime. No image stabilization.
On numbers alone, cameras released since then are better in a number of areas.
Still, there are reasons you'll want to walk around with the GR II.
Put the small 251g body in your pocket, take it out and shoot when something catches your eye. Then walk on again.
Rainy days, nights, and ordinary days when nothing happens: carrying a camera changes how you see the scenery, just a little.
The RICOH GR II may be less a camera you go out in order to shoot with thana camera that turns wherever you've gone into photographs.
For those looking for a used GR II, too, it is a camera we'd like you to try once, including this "joy of carrying it and shooting," not just the specs.
About the RICOH GR II
A lens-integrated compact digital camera released on July 17, 2015.
It has an approx. 16.2-megapixel effective APS-C CMOS sensor and an 18.3mm f/2.8 lens, shooting at an angle of view equivalent to approx. 28mm in 35mm format.
The first in the GR series to include Wi-Fi and NFC, it enables image transfer to smartphones and linking with compatible devices. It also supports "Full Press Snap," which lets you shoot quickly at a preset distance.
A digital camera that fits an APS-C large sensor and a 28mm-equivalent prime lens into a portable compact body.
Width x height x depth: 117.0mm x 62.8mm x 34.7mm (excluding operating parts and projections)
Weight: 251g (including battery and SD memory card)
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